> Why is there no citation on this one?

Clearly none was needed since you know what I was referring to. I disagree that the APIs are not sufficient, since I've used them in enterprise contexts and found them to be comprehensive. The same APIs are available via consumer means. There are tons of VPN and filtering apps for iOS.

From [0]:

- Change the system’s Wi-Fi configuration

- ...

- Create and manage VPN configurations, using the built-in VPN protocols (Personal VPN) or a custom VPN protocol

- Create and manage network relay configurations

- Implement an on-device content filter

- Create and manage system-wide DNS configurations

- ...

And continues with:

- Configure your VPN to include and exclude some network traffic

- "... built-in proxying for TCP and UDP traffic over HTTP/3 and HTTP/2..."

- Use the Network Extension framework to allow or deny network connections

- ...

> That's Safari in a trenchcoat.

Only if you consider the core of Firefox to be Gecko, and not the entire product experience created around Gecko, which is merely an engine.

The security surface area of a JIT-enabled browser engine is significant and complex (see: Chrome). Apple arguably keeps phones safer by maintaining this restriction. Isn't that what you want in the first place?

> That requires an entitlement that A...

See note about Apple's active hostility toward hobbyists. This is considered a feature from their perspective, and reasonable minds could differ about whether they are right, but it is a choice nonetheless.

> I own both iOS and Android devices for what it's worth

So do I. I don't understand why this is mysterious to you, then.

> Since... it was formed? Really?

Yes, really. "Since it was formed" as in, Apple has always taken a stance (after well documented disagreement between the Steves) to build a "walled garden." Whether that wall is a $100/yr fee, or special screws in a tower case, or what not, they have consistently implemented that opinion with action since their inception.

Apple II aside, macOS is actively hostile toward 3rd party software. See: Notary, signing, and so on.

> This is a frankly insane thing to say to someone who is in middle of criticizing Apple for this exact hostility

Being hostile toward hobbyists is a feature to them, not a bug, and it is orthogonal to privacy at best (at worst, in their view, openness is harmful to privacy). If we are arguing about privacy, then we might agree on this point, but for different reasons.

> [Apple is the same company that ran a tirade]... [Don't like it? Just use something else!]

Yes, that is your right. I don't claim to defend everything Apple produces, but, focusing again on the topic at hand (privacy/security), I personally think they do a better job than most. Their choices to get there can be argued over, of course, which is what we are doing now. I see their choices are part-and-parcel of a larger cohesive strategy; apparently you do not?

> So I can't just pretend Apple doesn't exist

Sure, I never suggested you could, merely that other devices will be naturally better for people who want to use them as enthusiasts or hobbyists outside the Blessed Apple Path(tm).

> I know. I don't think highly of this position, but I am well aware of it.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I think highly of your position to argue with it in good faith, so I'm sad to hear that.

[0]: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/networkextension